


Now I See Daylight

by angellwings



Series: (You Are) What You Love [6]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Healing, Hope, Love, Moving On, One Shot, Optimism, Recovery, Romance, Set during 212, part 6 of 18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 02:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20716919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellwings/pseuds/angellwings
Summary: The Lifeboat lands with a jolt though not as large of a jolt as they've gotten accustomed to, thanks to future Jiya. They sit in the quiet for a moment before opening the hatch. As much as Wyatt wants to sequester Lucy in his—theirroom and decompress for the rest of the night, he knows the debrief and mission reports come first. It may be their last mission, but post mission protocols never change.Their eyes continually drift to each other as they remove their seatbelts. The minute Lucy's arm is removed from the last of the straps, he springs forward to steal a kiss. The few from the church left him wanting more. Not that he expected anything less. Lucy Preston always leaves him wanting more. He can never have his fill of her.She makes a sound that's a swirl of amusement and surprise against his lips. He feels her smile before her hands slide up his arms and into the short hairs at the back of his neck. He wraps his arms around her and straightens from his position bent over her seat, bringing them both to stand. His hand idly skims across her back, between her shoulders, and the contented noise she releases into his mouth is a balm to his guilt ridden soul.





	Now I See Daylight

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N: **This one was my favorite to write so far. I smiled from beginning to end with the exception of one moment that left me with happy tears in the middle of Barnes and Noble, but that's okay. Hopefully you guys enjoy this as much as I did.
> 
> This should fill in some 212 blanks leading up to the Lyatt bedroom scene.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Angellwings
> 
> * * *

* * *

"Luck of the draw, only draws the unlucky,

And so I became the butt of the joke.

I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked.

Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke.

Maybe you ran with wolves and refused to settle down,

Maybe I've stormed out of every single room in this town.

Threw out our cloaks and our daggers because it's morning now.

It's brighter now,

_Now._"

-"Daylight" by Taylor Swift

* * *

The Lifeboat lands with a jolt though not as large of a jolt as they've gotten accustomed to, thanks to future Jiya. They sit in the quiet for a moment before opening the hatch. As much as Wyatt wants to sequester Lucy in his—_their_ room and decompress for the rest of the night, he knows the debrief and mission reports come first. It may be their last mission, but post mission protocols never change.

Their eyes continually drift to each other as they remove their seatbelts. The minute Lucy's arm is removed from the last of the straps, he springs forward to steal a kiss. The few from the church left him wanting more. Not that he expected anything less. Lucy Preston always leaves him wanting more. He can never have his fill of her.

She makes a sound that's a swirl of amusement and surprise against his lips. He feels her smile before her hands slide up his arms and into the short hairs at the back of his neck. He wraps his arms around her and straightens from his position bent over her seat, bringing them both to stand. His hand idly skims across her back, between her shoulders, and the contented noise she releases into his mouth is a balm to his guilt ridden soul.

Really, just a happy Lucy Preston in general is a balm to anything that ails him. Especially after they've faced so much grief and pain together.

The cold of Hungnam hasn't quite left them yet. Her clothes are covered in a lingering chill, her hands in his hair feel like ice, but the heat between them more than makes up for it.

Lucy laughs lightly as she pulls away from him with flushed cheeks and kiss swollen lips. "If we don't go out there soon, they'll start to worry."

He quirks a brow at her. "Please. They all see right through us. They know exactly what's going on in here."

Her light laugh shifts into a full guffaw and it reminds him of a sunrise. It's a golden light that slowly rises and thaws the frost that threatened to choke them both.

"We still have to debrief," she reminds him, smirking ever so slightly.

"I know," he says with a nod. "But before we go out there I need to do this the right way."

Her brow furrows in confusion. "Do what the right way?"

He sucks in a nervous breath and feels one corner of his mouth pull upward. "The words, Lucy. Last time I said them we weren't in a good place and I—Jesus, I couldn't even bring myself to look at you." His crooked smile falters and he tightens his hold on her. He's still worried this all might go away. "I know we have a lot more to talk about than what we said in the church but before we go out there and relive all the shit we just went through, I want to make sure I get _this part_ right."

Her stare wanders his face while he talks and when she opens her mouth to speak he expects her to brush him off and tell him not to worry about it. He's ready with his rebuttal but his expectations are wrong.

She nods once and settles her amber eyes on his. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind a do over," she admits. "I should have been honest with you afterward and told you how I felt instead of...I don't know shutting off, I guess?"

His eyes narrow and he wags his head back and forth with a scoff. "No, you had every right to keep those words to yourself, Lucy. I hurt you. You needed time. I get that."

He truly does. There are no hard feelings in his heart about that. He mostly just feels goddamn lucky she said them back _at all_.

"Still," she says with a small wan smile. "I'm all for a second chance at getting _that _right. And I think...I think we hurt _each other_, Wyatt. You didn't do _all_ the damage yourself. If you're honest, I hurt you too."

He swallows thickly and glances away from her. He doesn't feel as though he has a right to mention it. She suffered more than he did, and he could have pushed passed her walls. Looking back, he saw her building them around herself. Every time she told him to be with Jessica, deep down he _knew_ that wasn't what she wanted. He waited for a sign he shouldn't have needed. He should have taken the leap and chosen Lucy even if he wasn't sure she'd reciprocate.

But at the time, he thought he was respecting her wishes. He thought ignoring her insistence that they were over would hurt her more deeply. He didn't want to harass her, even though it killed him every time she shut him down. He wanted to talk — to tell her how he felt. She didn't.

Lucy's right.

_It hurt_.

"Wyatt…?" She asks worriedly.

"The difference," he says with a conflicted huff. "Is that I deserved that hurt."

She raises a stern brow at him. "Like hell you did. Rittenhouse, Jessica, even _my mother_, used your loyalty against you, Wyatt. You don't deserve pain for trying to do the right thing."

"Was I trying to do the right thing? Or was I just too chickenshit to admit my marriage to Jessica was never how I remembered it?" His question is rhetorical. He has no answer. Neither does Lucy. But he can't keep it in any longer. "I romanticized it so much, Lucy. The rose colored glasses went on the minute she went missing. We weren't an epic love story. Even if my Jess wasn't Rittenhouse, at best we were two kids with no one else who got married on impulse. I couldn't let her go because she was all I had, even if we made each other miserable. There was never any lightning. I led myself to believe there was, but looking back...the lightning was barely even static electricity."

"That's not unusual," she assures him. "I do that with my dad. With Amy. I'm sure I'll eventually start doing that with my mother too. No one wants to remember the bad things about the people they lose."

"No, but I didn't have to pass it on to _you_," he tells her as he rests his forehead against hers. "The whole reason you kept telling me to go back to Jessica was because you thought that she and I were...that she was…" He lets his sentence fade with an emotional gulp. He's let Lucy believe she wasn't a priority for too long. It's difficult to admit he deceived himself about Jessica, but it's more unbearable to think Lucy doesn't know who she really is to him. He takes a deep breath and pointedly pins his gaze with hers. "I let you believe that she was the love of my life, Lucy, and that's not the case. _Hasn't_ been the case for a long time now."

Lucy inhales sharply and her eyes immediately water. She blinks rapidly and he knows she's trying not to cry. She presses her lips together and brings her soft hands to frame his face. When she speaks, he can hear the emotions sticking in her throat. "What?"

"_You're_ the lightning, ma'am," he says as an affectionate grin pulls at one corner of his mouth. His eyes are watering now too and breathing through his emotions is becoming increasingly more difficult. "_You_. Not Jessica. I've never loved anyone the way I love you. There should never have been a choice because...Jesus, you're _the only choice_, and I'm never gonna let you doubt that again. Clear?"

"Clear," she says in a hushed tone. She releases a shaky breath and then beams at him. He's reminded of that same sunrise from earlier. Her thumbs trace across his cheeks for a lingering beat before she presses her lips to his again.

She presses herself flush against him and deepens the kiss as her fingers slip through his hair. She's giving him everything in this kiss. He can _feel _it. Every bit of her. One kiss becomes several until finally she's slows them down with shorter kisses to his lips, his jaw, and then finally just below his ear.

"You're my lightning, too," she whispers. He feels her cheek sliding over his as she nods and tightens her arms around him. "Didn't know it actually existed until you."

She takes half a step back to meet his eyes but doesn't step out of the circle of his arms. They've been through freezing conditions, a helicopter crash, and shed more than a few tears. Yet, she still looks breathtakingly beautiful.

"I love you, Lucy," he says as he brings a hand up from her waist to cup her cheek.

"I love you, too," she replies with a wide smile and glistening eyes.

They stand there for, what must be several minutes, sharing silly grins before his eyes finally move past her to the Lifeboat hatch. He sighs and takes her hand in his, threading their fingers together.

"Time to face the music."

Lucy laughs. "It's just a debrief. Same as always."

"Not just any debrief," he tells her as he slaps the button by the door. "The _last_ debrief, after a pretty traumatic mission. It might take a while."

"What are you worried about?" She asks him with a knowing glance.

"That reliving it all might make you reconsider," he answers with a swallow.

She leans up and presses a quick kiss to his lips with a shake of her head. The certainty in her eyes is soothing. "Not a chance. I'm not going anywhere, Wyatt. Not without you."

They step out of the Lifeboat to knowing smirks and teasing eyerolls. Rufus and Jiya are dismissed to their room. Wyatt plans to keep his hand tight in Lucy's and rush passed Christopher, but the DHS agent sees that coming from a mile away.

She steps in front of them with a parental glare. "You two aren't getting away that easily. You know the drill."

He lets out a labored sigh. Lucy chuckles from her spot next to him and squeezes his hand.

"I'll go first and I'll make it as quick as I can," she tells him. "Take a shower, warm up. We'll talk more later."

"Bossy know-it-all," he mutters teasingly as he releases her hand.

"Better that than a reckless hothead," she replies with a wink just before she follows after Denise.

He follows orders. He showers under the hot water, changes clothes, and makes himself a cup of coffee to drink while he waits for his turn. He checks the contents of his phone. Something he hasn't done in this timeline, yet. He flips through his social media. It's all basically dead since he's supposed to be laying low. Not that he was ever good at social media before, that is. Finally, he gets to his camera roll.

He's never really been a picture taking kind of guy. Jess always had to force him to take photos. He knows that about himself so he doesn't expect much. His eyes widen as he opens the photo application. Apparently, he has no problems using his camera with Lucy. There are selfies upon selfies as well as candids of her in various spots around the bunker. A few videos of her glaring at him over a cup of tea and a thick book. His phone is bursting with happy memories he doesn't have.

Normally, this would bring on resurgence of regret because this could have been them for weeks now, but he's surprised to find he feels mostly..._hope_. Maybe this hasn't been them for the last few weeks, but it _can be_ in the future.

It _will_ be.

He doesn't know how much time passes, but eventually he feels a gentle touch trail across his back and looks up to find Lucy. Her eyes are red rimmed and a little haunted but there's still light behind them. That's a good sign.

"You're up, soldier," Lucy tells him with a light squeeze of his shoulder. "I'm going to get cleaned up and wait for you in the room."

He nods as he stands from the table. "I'll find you when I'm done."

He walks toward the closet-turned-conference-room and manages to only glance back at her twice. That's a pretty big accomplishment considering how badly he wants to turn around and find out exactly what's haunting her. But he'll have time for that later.

After all, she'll be waiting in _their_ room.

How did he get here? Just forty-eight hours ago he was convinced he'd lost any chance he had with her. He's relieved to have been wrong.

Christopher motions to the empty chair across from her as he enters the room and then proceeds to ask him a multitude of questions about the minutiae of _everything_ that happened after the Lifeboat took off for North Korea. He answers her questions dutifully. Sometimes having to answer the same question, phrased a different way. It's a technique to get him to remember details he may have overlooked initially. He's very familiar with it. The whole thing is boring as hell.

There are only two memories he falters over. The helicopter crash and the Church just before Christopher found them. The first because he was genuinely terrified for his team and frantic to keep them safe. The second because everything that happened at that alter with Lucy felt completely and utterly _private_. It's theirs and theirs alone.

When Christpher's satisfied with her mission report, she changes the topic.

And he's not sure he _likes_ this particular topic.

"So," she says as she opens, what appears to be, his DHS dossier. "What's next?"

Fuck, he's not prepared to answer that question. "Next?"

She nods. "I'm still waiting for the official order telling me I can send you all home, but once I have it...what will you do? Pendleton, I assume?"

_Pendleton_. The idea of Pendleton makes him sick to his stomach. He doesn't want to think about another life threatening mission after this one. Long deployments. Enemy combatants. Training in between deployments. Leaving Lucy for long stretches of time. He felt so aimless with Delta Force and after Jessica's death that was fine. He didn't have a home so he didn't need to stick around. But the thought of going back to that feels like a chunk of lead in his gut.

But what else is there? This is all he knows. And he's damn good at it. He's worked his ass off to be good at it. He doesn't want to leave again but...giving it up and changing his entire career seems _extreme_. He still wants to serve his country. He simply wants to do it closer to home.

He's not sure what that means or what his options will be, but that's what he _wants._

"I suppose so," he answers, bouncing his leg nervously.

"You _suppose_ so?" Denise asks with a kind smile. "That doesn't sound very convincing, Wyatt."

He gives her a self deprecating grin and shrugs. "Never really been that great of a liar so that makes sense."

"You don't want to go back?"

"I want to serve, but I'd rather stay stateside. Preferably somewhere close to Palo Alto," he replies honestly.

She smirks and nods slowly, as if she sees straight through him. "And close to a certain Stanford Professor we both know?"

"Well, that's a _distinct_ advantage to sticking around Palo Alto, yes. But it's more about...feeling at home," he says thoughtfully. "Everyone I care about is here. Including Lucy. I've never really had that before. Now that I've found it, I don't like the thought of giving it up. Even on a temporary basis. I want to be here, in the present, living some version of a normal life while somehow doing what I'm best at, serving and protecting. Not sure how I'll do it, but...I'll figure it out."

"A work life balance is good," Christopher agrees. "You deserve it. You're a phenomenal soldier, but life should be about more than just _that_."

There's silence as she reads over the first page of his dossier. He's not sure what's on it. He doesn't have high enough clearance to see it. He has a feeling, though, it's his stats at a glance. Like a resume and a background check all at once.

Without glancing up at him, Christopher poses a question. "You ever thought about a transfer?"

His brow furrows. "To where?"

"Special Projects, Department of Homeland Security." She keeps her face blank as she lifts her head from the file to meet his eyes. "With me."

"Homeland Security?" He asks. Consider him intrigued.

"I could always use a well trained soldier with a record like yours. I've found your perspective invaluable on these missions. I'd like to apply that perspective to a broader scope of threats," she explains. "It's based in Palo Alto. It has pretty regular office hours. You're on call in case of an emergency, but those are rare. You may have the occasional out of town assignment, but never for very long."

"How long is 'never for very long'?" He's skeptical. This sounds too good to be true.

"The longest out of town assignment I've had is four weeks. But I doubt you'd see an assignment like that for a long time, depending on how you like it and if you can see yourself in the job long term. It's rewarding work, Wyatt. I particularly think you'll like my team's next assignment."

He narrows his eyes at her. "What assignment is that?"

"Rounding up the rest of Rittenhouse. Emma had the Mothership so she was our biggest threat, but the people in charge before she absconded with a time machine are still out there. And we've got a witness ready to deal," Denise says with a wicked grin. "Those bastards have no idea what's coming."

He mirrors her grin and leans forward, folding his arms on the table. "You're right, I would like that assignment."

"Thought as much," she says with a muted chuckle. "So, are you in?"

"Are you serious?" This really is too good to be true. It has to be.

"So serious that I've got the paperwork right here," she says as she pats the folio where she stores her mission reports. "Sign it all now and I can send them off as soon as I'm done debriefing the others. What do you say, Master Sergeant? Want to help me finish the job?"

"I say, gimme a goddamn pen."

Denise laughs loudly and opens her folio. "That's what I was hoping you'd say."

He spends a half hour filling out a shit ton of paperwork but he doesn't even mind. It's a step in the right direction. Time will tell if it's a job with staying power, but he's _certain_it's where he's supposed to go from here. It _feels_ right.

"Hopefully," Denise tells him as he hands her the finished paperwork. "I'll have new orders for you in the morning."

"On Christmas?" Wyatt asks in surprise.

She looks like the cat that ate the canary as she replies, "It's all about who you know, Wyatt, and I'm very well connected." She waves a hand to the door to brush him off. "You're dismissed. See you in the morning."

He bids her goodnight and leaves with a little extra bounce in his step. Without Pendleton on the horizon, he's truly free to live in the moment. To _enjoy_ his Christmas — _with Lucy_.

His life has done quite the turn around in the last few hours. It's a little overwhelming but he's not fighting it. He's going with flow. He wants to feel every second of it - painful, joyous, giddy…

All of it.

He stops in the open doorway to the bedroom he now shares with Lucy and leans against the frame. She's settled in the bed, an oversized sweater around her shoulders, socks on her feet, and a satin nightgown hugging her curves. She looks cozy and comfortable, like this is the only place she's meant to be.

She looks up from her phone to see him watching her and the corners of her mouth turn up slowly in a smile that makes him forget the late hour. As far as he's concerned the day has just begun and he has all the time in the world to enjoy it with her.

"You're back," she announces.

Her eyes are no longer red or haunted. They're a bright and lively shade of cinnamon that he hasn't seen in a while. Not since that night in Hollywood to be exact.

"How'd it go?" She asks in concern.

"Same as always," he replies with a casual lift of his shoulder. He wants to tell her about the job, but in case those people Christopher knows don't pan out he doesn't want to get her hopes up. Orders are orders and if he's ordered back to Pendleton, he'll have to go. Best to wait and find out what those orders turn out to be. "How was yours?"

She sighs but her eyes don't change. "Had a bit of a moment reliving the artillery fire and Emma holding Amy over my head at the end but otherwise fine."

"She wouldn't have done it, you know," Wyatt assures her. "No way in hell Emma would have brought Amy back just like that. She would have strung us along and then bailed."

Lucy takes a deep breath and nods. "I know."

"You did the right thing," he adds for good measure.

She smiles softly at him and nods. "I know that too, but thank you for the vote of confidence. Do you plan on actually coming in the room or…"

He quirks a brow at her and laughs. "Went all of two minutes without you bossing me around."

She rolls her eyes. "Get in here and shut the door, Logan."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," he says with a mock salute.

"And _that_ was two minutes without a _ma'am_."

"If you get to boss me around then I get to call you 'ma'am'. Can't have one without the other," he declares with a smirk as he steps in the room and closes the door behind him.

"Hey, listen to this," she says.

"Yeah," he says as he takes a seat in the chair in the corner. He plans to join her in that bed as soon as he can. She looks too appealing to sit there all alone.

He listens to her read aloud about the fate of Young-Hee and her family while he takes off his shoes. Young-Hee lived to an old age and the baby girl he'd held just a handful of hours ago had grown up to become a teacher like her mother with two kids of her own. He was jealous of how beautifully simple that life sounded.

"Wow. Sounds like a crazy, ordinary, wonderful life," he states. He hears the wistfulness in his tone and he's not the tiniest bit ashamed of it. He wants that. _Ordinary_ sounds amazing to him.

"Thanks to you," Lucy reminds him.

He stands and makes his way to the foot of the bed, grateful when she climbs across the bed to meet him halfway. There's no way he deserves credit for this. If it had been up to him they would have gone straight to the Lifeboat, no distractions. "No. That was your call. You're the one that said everyone's important."

"Maybe not to history," she replies as he snakes his arms around her waist. She leans into him without a moment's hesitation. "But everybody is important to someone, I think."

God, he's missed this. Talking to her, touching her, just being near her. Everybody is important to someone, and Lucy Preston is very important to him. Miracle of miracles, he's important to her too, he thinks with a chuckle.

Her head tilts upward just as he's about to go in for a kiss.

"Careful," she warns him with a pointed glance at the ceiling.

He follows her eyes to a hanging gathering of mistletoe on a red ribbon, just above the foot of the bed.

"How'd that get there?" He asks as their mutual laughter surrounds them.

"Apparently, Agent Christopher has a dirtier mind than we thought," Lucy answers.

"I mean, it is a custom."

"Mhm," she agrees playfully.

"All right," he says a second before he presses his lips to hers.

They chuckle their way into the first kiss. It leads into a slow burning series of quick open kisses — ending with him capturing her bottom lip as she leans back to look at him.

"That's the first time we've done that in the present. I mean, our present." She's clearly flustered and fumbling with her words. She closes her eyes briefly to focus and he watches her in adoration the entire time. "I mean, 2018."

True enough, and it's high time they add a few more kisses to that tally. "Well, it's gonna be 2019 soon."

"True." The cinnamon shade in her eyes flashes even brighter in the dim light, urging him forward.

"So, maybe we should…" He doesn't have to finish his sentence. As usual, Lucy Preston is one step ahead of him.

"Make up for lost time?"

The smile she flashes him is all the encouragement he needs to close the distance again and push her back toward the bed. It's almost midnight but right here with Lucy it feels like a new day. The sunrise he's been glimpsing in her presence confirms his thoughts. Every love he's experienced before was a flash in the pan. It burned fast and accomplished nothing. Left him no comfort, brought him no home. It was all a blur of burning red.

But _this _love — _Lucy's love_ — is a shimmering light that offers warmth and illumination in an all encompassing stunning shade of gold. He's never experienced anything like it. She's his light in the darkness, a sunrise after a hurricane.

Peace that stills and soothes.

He was asleep until the day he met her, living in a pitch black night that had lasted _decades_. Now, he's awake, _alive_, for the first time in far too long. Because of her and _for her._

If all that came before was night…

Then Lucy is his daylight.

It's passed time that he let himself step into her light and let his past go.

The guilt, the shame, all his mistakes are things to grow from but he won't dwell on them anymore. He won't let them define him.

He's going to build a life that's good. A crazy, ordinary, _wonderful_ life full of love and light and let _that_ define him.

It's time to step into the daylight and let it go.

And that's just what he plans to do.


End file.
